2010 Calera Pinot Noir de Villiers Vineyard

Ok, ok. I knew I said that I’d video each of the Calera Pinot Noir tastings. Well, it’s a work night and while I didn’t intend to tell an untruth, I just didn’t have the energy to film this tasting. I tried though, and frankly, I wish I had taken the time to tape it. You would have seen the devolution of a quasi-professional tasting into little more than a greedy drink-fest.

I opened up one of my precious Calera bottles and just immersed myself into pure emotional, hedonistic enjoyment.

This is a dark Pinot, and the nose has blackberries, unexpected dark plum, black cherries, and touches of clove and licorice. The mouthfeel is rich and luscious, and the palate reflects the nose with a bit of smoke through the mid palate (toasted oak?). The reason why I’m writing this ridiculously brief review is because the finish went on forever with a touch of sweet fruit, smoke, and spice! Each sip was a joy, and it was a beautiful pairing with my dinner. This is a wine that is not only delicious, but it’s an emotional experience as well. And hedonistic. Definitely hedonistic. While I’m not sure what that means, it sounds naughty enough to use.

I still have bottles from the Mills, Ryan, Selleck, Reed, and the esteemed Jensen vineyards. I’ll try to video those when I open them. Really. Trust me.

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In addition, the wine itself has direct contact with the plastic bag, which is a permeable, petrochemical-based material. If the wine has any decent acid in it, that immediately should be cause for concern.

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You’d think that having all of those beautiful experiences among the stunning scenery and environment of wine country would make me long to be a winemaker. And you would be wrong. Oh so very, very wrong.

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The cork forest sucks up CO2 which is generated in part by the plastic and aluminum refining processes. “Endocrine disrupter” is not a phrase you’ll see in relationship to cork. And there’s no such thing as a “cork spill.”

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“There has never been a peer reviewed or scientific study done to corroborate the outlandish claims of 5-10% spoilage of wines due to the natural cork closure. This a fallacy, perpetuated by those with a vested, financial interest in selling alternative closures. I’m happy to have you quote me on that.”

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Hemingway is great in that alone of living writers he has saturated his work with the memory of physical pleasure, with sunshine and salt water, with food, wine and making love and the remorse which is the shadow of that sun.